Crosscurrents 2025
Half a Century of Heart: Reaching, Teaching & Celebrating Every Mind
Online Keynote Speaker - Waubgeshig Rice
Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation on Georgian Bay. His first short story collection, "Midnight Sweatlodge", was inspired by his experiences growing up in an Anishinaabe community, and won an Independent Publishers Book Award in 2012. His debut novel, "Legacy", followed in 2014. "Moon of the Crusted Snow", his breakthrough novel, was published in 2018 and became a national bestseller. It received widespread critical acclaim, including the Evergreen Award in 2019. The sequel, "Moon of the Turning Leaves", arrived in late 2023. His books have been translated into French and German, and his short stories and essays have been published in numerous anthologies.
His journalism experience began in 1996 as an exchange student in northern Germany, writing articles about being an Anishinaabe youth in a foreign country for newspapers back in Canada. He graduated from the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2002. He spent most of his journalism career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a video journalist, web writer, producer, and radio host. In 2014, he received the Anishinabek Nation's Debwewin Citation for excellence in First Nation Storytelling. His final role with the CBC was host of "Up North", the afternoon radio program for northern Ontario. He left daily journalism in 2020 to focus on his literary career.
His journalism experience began in 1996 as an exchange student in northern Germany, writing articles about being an Anishinaabe youth in a foreign country for newspapers back in Canada. He graduated from the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2002. He spent most of his journalism career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a video journalist, web writer, producer, and radio host. In 2014, he received the Anishinabek Nation's Debwewin Citation for excellence in First Nation Storytelling. His final role with the CBC was host of "Up North", the afternoon radio program for northern Ontario. He left daily journalism in 2020 to focus on his literary career.
Keynote Address
Community Roots of Storytelling Careers
Community Roots of Storytelling Careers
Growing up in Wasauksing First Nation on Georgian Bay, I learned about Anishinaabe stories and traditions from family, community elders, and the school on reserve. This cultural foundation empowered me to study journalism and eventually write fiction. I can share how cultural revitalization and indigenous-focused learning led me to a career at CBC and becoming a best-selling author, and how a similar path can inspire others to pursue their passions.
Website
Waubgeshig Rice
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